Chương 46: CHAPTER 47: Vice Captain

Kazuya's crew arrived at the scene in a car — the battleground was a children's playground. Katsumi and Akira danced a deadly ballet around the Hollow, flinging Reishi arrows against its grotesque carapace. This Hollow, a monstrosity inspired by a giant beetle, wore a white mask adorned with red teeth — a sign of its victims.

Izumi's face twisted. "Katsumi!"

"One, Izumi-sama," Katsumi bellowed back, her voice echoing with regret. "We arrived a tick too late!"

Akira squeaked in between breaths, "Izumi-sama, this overgrown beetle has high-speed regeneration like Wolverine! It's shrugging off our attacks. We can't stall it for long."

In theory, Kazuya could have obliterated the Hollow with the sheer force of his fully unleashed Reiryoku. But unleashing such a formidable power would be akin to inviting more formidable Hollows. If a gang of Adjuchas showed up, Izumi might just have a heart attack on the spot.

Izumi gripped her Quincy cross, torn between her promise to Kazuya and the need to aid her comrades. "It's no time to hesitate—"

He placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Remember what we discussed. Allow me to handle this."

Harvesting the ambient Reishi, he created a Spirit Crossbow. With a swift draw and release, he unleashed half a dozen azure arrows, each heading for a different limb of the Hollow. The giant Hollow, engrossed in its pursuit of the two Quincies, failed to detect its incoming doom. The azure bolts smashed into its six limbs, decimating them. No matter how alert, the Hollow stood no chance of evading bolts moving with such blistering velocity.

He had gotten significantly better after getting a hang of the bow's mechanism and shape.

The de-legged Hollow let out a gut-wrenching screech, thrashing about on the ground like a beetle flipped on its back. Moments later, its limbs reformed, and it charged at Kazuya in pure rage.

"Watch out!"

He shrugged off Izumi's warning. With an eerily calm demeanor, he fired six more bolts in an instant, dismembering the Hollow once again.

Izumi's face paled as Kazuya repeated his brutal cycle, his face an emotionless mask as if he had grown comfortably numb to such gore. Even Katsumi and Akira couldn't help but tremble at his merciless methods.

Finally, when the Hollow had exhausted its reservoir of Reiryoku, Kazuya let it writhe helplessly on the ground. He turned to Izumi, his face breaking into a grin that was a bit too wide to be comforting. "Done."

"I have no words for your growth," Izumi said and tossed the car keys at him. "You can return home. I'll handle the talks with Shinigami."

"You can't just shoo me away when the fun part is about to begin. I wanna have a chat with the Shinigami too."

As long as Izumi stayed out of the mansion, he had no chance of sneaking out of town to rendezvous with Harribel. He might as well stick around to see who would be dispatched to Karakura Town after he had effectively set off the Seireitei's alarms with the presence of two Arrancars. Lucky for him, a lone Shinigami showed up in a couple of minutes.

A tall man with a sharp face and black hair.

His Reiatsu was on par with Gillian's, but Kazuya could sense something off about him. The Soul Reaper had the aura of a veteran.

'Vice Captains and Captains get a restraining seal in the Living World, don't they? This guy should at least be a Vice Captain.'

There was a flicker of recognition in Kazuya's mind, a sense of familiarity, but the Shinigami's name remained just beyond his grasp.

As the black-haired Shinigami took in the scene — the Quincy group and the squirming Hollow, an expression of startled surprise crept onto his face. "Who are you folks? Did you do this to this poor fellow?"

Akira and Katsumi exchanged glances before pointing, almost in unison, towards Kazuya's back. Izumi, without a trace of guilt, followed suit and threw him under the bus.

"My Otouto is heartless."

Kazuya's face twitched. "I could have killed it if you didn't teach me the importance of balance in three realms."

"Balance?" Shinigami's eyes widened, a spark of understanding in his black eyes. "Ah, I see. You are… Quincy. The Clan that was said to have been wiped from existence a century and a half ago."

He would've known about Ishida Clan if he bothered reading the files given to him. Alas, he wasn't the type to go through a stack of rapports.

A shadow fell across Izumi's face, her eyes clouding over. "And who is responsible for wiping our race?"

The Shinigami scratched at the nape of his neck, the weight of the Quincies' tragic history seemingly hanging heavy in the air. "I didn't mean to open old wounds. It's just… It's surprising to encounter your kind. I'm Kaien Shiba, the Vice Captain of the Thirteenth Squad."

Kazuya felt a jolt of recognition. Kaien was from the Shiba Clan, a once noble lineage that had fallen from grace in the Soul Society. Isshin Kurosaki, Ichigo's father, was a Shiba before he took on the monumental task of suppressing Masaki's Hollow.

Kaien's death played a big role in Rukia's growth as a Shinigami and a person. Him being alive meant Rukia was still in the 13th Squad or she had yet to graduate from the Shinigami Academy.

Kaien pivoted to face the Hollow and unsheathed his Zanpakutō. "We can continue our conversation once I put this fellow out of his suffering."

With a swift, almost merciful motion, Kaien cleaved the beetle-like Hollow into two perfect halves. The Hollow let out a final, agonized shriek before its form flickered and evaporated into nothingness.

The Hollow was cleansed and sent to Soul Society.

With a sigh, Kaien slid his katana back into its sheath. "I was expecting a group of Hollows. Turns out it was just one guy. Could it be the scout for Arrancars?"

He would've been here earlier if he hadn't been dozing off like a hibernating bear.

"Better safe than sorry," Kazuya said, a smirk playing on his lips. "By the way, what's this about Arrancars?"

"You guys probably don't know about Arrancars. They are Hollows who take off their masks. They are not much of a threat except the Menos like Gillian, Adjuchas, and Vasto Lorde…" Kaien narrowed his eyes. "Seireitei is taking this matter seriously. I'll be in the town for a few days."

His Captain, Jushiro Ukitake, had dispatched him to monitor the Hollow activities. Being a Vice Captain, he came alone, armed with his Zanpakutō. The news of a Vasto Lorde Arrancar had sent ripples of concern through the Gotei 13. Shunsui Kyoraku believed that the Hollows were planning a full-scale invasion of this town under the guidance of a Vasto Lorde leader.

In an ironic twist of fate, Kaien stood before the very Vasto Lorde he was supposed to be on guard against, completely clueless.

Suppressing a laugh, Kazuya said, "Well, try not to be so late next time. It's a pain to hold back on small fries."

Kaien observed Kazuya before bursting into laughter. "I like your confidence. It reminds me of my Captain's best friend. Well, Quincy friends, I think my job is done here. Goodnight."

Kaien never thought he would be befriending people of a near extinct clan of Hollow slayers. After saying a brief greeting to everyone, Kaein departed in a good mood.

Meanwhile, Izumi stood rooted to the spot, her face ashen. She was all too aware of the power of a Vice Captain. Even her husband would struggle against such a formidable opponent. Now, one of them would be casually strolling around their town. Add to that the terrifying potential of Menos-class Arrancars, and she was sure about having sleepless nights until the matter was solved.